Tampon devices are manufactured to enable a woman to participate in activities such as swimming even during the menstrual cycle.
The old prior art tampons were so water absorbent that menstruating women could not or would not be able to swim as the device would also absorb water and when fully saturated would bleed into the water. Current technology has enabled new tampon construction that has a hydrophilic portion for blood absorption and a hydrophobic portion at the distal or string or cord end to block water absorption and thus are well suited for swimming or spa usages. Even the removal string or cord is made of non-water/fluid wicking hydrophobic material. Therefore it is now accepted and hygienically safe to enjoy swimming during this time.
These tampons have a long string or cord extending from the tampon that facilitates removal. This removal string is exposed and easily observable when a woman is wearing a bathing suit. This is embarrassing as it draws attention to the tampon. To avoid this string exposure the current practice is to cut the extending string portions or ends, which are specifically designed to be exposed to facilitate removal, to shorten them to a length that fits well inside body cavity thus concealing them. Unfortunately most women needing to do this may have no access to scissors or knives to cut the excess string if at the club or public swimming pool. Secondarily, if too much string is removed, there is the risk of needing forceps or other means to grasp the tampon when it must be removed. Accordingly, there is a need to provide a safe, reliable product that solves this issue of tampon string exposure from under swimwear or under garments.
The present invention described below provides a solution to prevent exposed “removal strings” while maintaining the safe, reliable use of the removal string.